


The Batman is Dead, Long Live the Batman

by SecretRock



Series: From Out of the Bat's Shadow [3]
Category: Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: Batman: Arkham Knight Spoilers, Gen, Post-Batman: Arkham Knight, a mixture of game canon and comic canon, because the game is vague and i can, you can't just run bruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 12:26:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15291504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretRock/pseuds/SecretRock
Summary: The fallout from Halloween still rears its head in Gotham city. The revelation of Batman's identity and subsequent death may have meant the end of it for Bruce Wayne, but he left behind a family to deal with the issues that weren't resolved. Tim Drake, youngest ward of Bruce Wayne and most likely suspect for Robin, is taking the brunt of this.Vicki Vale seems like the worst person he could turn to (after Jack Ryder) but he knows her, and he knows she misses Bruce too.





	The Batman is Dead, Long Live the Batman

“Did you…know? I won’t tell anyone, I just… I just need to know.”

Vikki stared at Tim from across the table, food laying untouched between the two of them. The question was personal, but he’d expected no less when he’d accepted the invite to lunch. He and Dick had been avoiding her for the past few weeks. Neither of them were sure what she was after. Was she calling as the ex-girlfriend of the late Bruce Wayne or as a journalist trying to get a scoop on Batman?

Tim eventually agreed because she seems like a nice enough woman. Nice enough to not be harassing two brothers about their father’s vigilante activities and death, at least. She’d always given him his space when she and Bruce were dating, not like some of the other vultures Bruce spent time with. He assumed it was to make sure he didn’t have to watch any PDA and possibly because he always looked like a moody teenager. Tim was more than happy to take the space. She was an investigative journalist after all. Bruce had acting down to a T, but given too much time and she would have seen right through Tim. At least he didn’t have to act anymore.

“What do you want me to tell you?”

What could he tell her? 

Yes, I knew. I knew and the worry of if he would be alive or not at dawn made me sick.

Yes, I’m Robin. I forced Batman to take me on to prevent him from becoming a murderer and that almost directly led to the events of Halloween.

No, he hid it all from me. I never noticed him disappearing every night, or the random injuries he came home with.

“The truth.”

“I knew. And I helped.”

She nodded. She probably already knew that he was Robin, knew as much as she could without him confirming it. Everyone did. It was an easy connection to make: Bruce Wayne is Batman, could the kids running round with Batman be Bruce Wayne’s kids?

It was going to be a tough job to convince people that he didn’t run around in tights at night. Tougher still since he got shot the same night as Robin and it was leaked that there was fear toxin in his system. Nobody was going to buy a mugging. He didn’t want to stop either. Dick didn’t. Barbara didn’t. He couldn’t leave them to it alone.

“Did anyone else know?”

Tim paused. That wasn’t his place to say.

“I just want to help, Tim.”

“Our family.”

They fell into silence. Neither of them ate the food in front of them. Vikki was shifting in her seat. She had something she wanted to ask. It was something she didn’t want to ask. Tim could guess what it was about. When his father had died, people had been the same. Wanting to ask how he was, details about the property, details about the death, but they were worried about infringing. Tim regretted pushing for most of those questions. It was better when they hadn’t been asked. 

“You want to ask something.”

Vikki took a second to consider her question once more.

“Do you think he’s still alive?”

Tim almost laughed. It was the question everyone was asking. It was the question everyone already knew the answer to. The answer, of course, wasn’t logical. They’d found remains in the manor after the explosion. Two bodies: the right proportions for Alfred and Bruce. There wasn’t time for them to get to any exits between Bruce getting in and everything going up in flames. It was ridiculous to think that anyone could have survived.  
Which was how Bruce wanted it.

Kill Bruce Wayne and let the Batman exist free from any ties to an identity. Tim knew he’d craved it, hated the illusion of Bruce Wayne, philanthropist playboy. He didn’t seem to realise that a lot of Gotham needed that image of a carefree playboy who rebuilt the city every time a supervillain destroyed something. The one who cared about the safety of the people more than the mayor. The one who took in orphans just because he thought they deserved a good life. 

Tim had held on to the hope that when Bruce Wayne did eventually end, it wouldn’t be the end of their small family. From where ever he was, Bruce would stay in contact with him and Barbara and Dick and they’d all still meet up after long nights for hot drinks and to make fun of the villains. It had almost been a month now. Tim was living with Barbara. Dick was still in Bludhaven. There’d been no word to any of them from Bruce or even Alfred. The message was clear.

Tim looked Vikki in the eyes.

“Bruce Wayne is dead.” He told her, and she understood perfectly. Bruce Wayne had died on Halloween.

Batman hadn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's part three, after a while. Turns out I'm more inspired to write fics for a certain game while playing it, who would've thought?  
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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